Wedding Jitters
by hey.regionals159
Summary: Set post 4x11, but Anna and Elsa stay in Storybrooke. When Anna comes to Elsa with some questions about her honeymoon, Elsa immediately realizes she's out of her depth. Talking with Anna makes her recognize what she has known for a long time- could she be asexual? Does that really exist? While Anna talks to Emma to get some more *practical* advice, Elsa confides in Regina.


"Frozen Fractals." Elsa rested her phone between her shoulder and chin while she tapped her laptop screen to pull up her schedule.

"Yes, I'd love to see what you have…yes, two pm on Wednesday would be great. Oh and please tell Mark that I'll need to see his designs by the end of the week if he wants them to be considered…Okay, take care."

She put down her phone and marked the appointment in her calendar. Frozen Fractals will be designing Storybrook's new clock tower! Elsa was so glad Anna had convinced her to start her own architecture firm. She discovered that she loved being in charge (okay, she'd known that for a while, being a big sister), but mostly she just loved getting to put all her energy into her designs.

Emma gave her a fancy office in Regina's mansion during her stay in Storybrook, and she and Anna were renting a suite at Granny's. It was nice to get away from the kingdom, even for just a couple months. Elsa was a dedicated queen, but she needed a break.

"A sabbatical," Henry had told her. That kid was smart.

Elsa spent the rest of the day sketching new designs for the building's exterior, sending them to her collaborators through a portal Regina set up for her. To her delight, Kristoff's fellow ice men made great architects, so they comprised most of her firm. She even had a few young interns who proved eager to learn.

As she left the mansion, she passed by Regina's office to say goodnight. Regina was the perfect person to work alongside, in Elsa's opinion. It was nice to have someone else in the huge mansion too, but Regina never intruded or tried to make meaningless small talk with Elsa. She was all about business, and Elsa found that to be a refreshing contrast to sharing a room with Anna. She loved Anna more than anything, but the energy of that girl…

~xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx~

"Anna?" Elsa called when she got back to Granny's.

"In here!" Anna's voice sounded over the screech of the tea kettle.

Following the trail of leaves and sand to the kitchen, Elsa found Anna shrouded in steam from the tea pot. _That's right_ , Elsa remembered, _Anna went through the portal to visit Kristoff today_.

"How was it?" Elsa put her bag down on the table.

"Elsa!" Anna turned around to hand her sister a cup of tea. "It was amazing!" Anna poured a cup for herself and nearly spilled it as she bounded to the table. "We rode Sven to the sables and groomed the other reindeer, they are SO cute Elsa, you have to come with us sometime, and we rode to the lake and ice skated, and then we came back and had hot chocolate, of course." She paused to take a long gulp of tea. "And then we made dinner, well, _he_ made dinner, I can't cook to save my life, and then we ate and—"

"Okay, slow down Anna." Elsa put her hand over her sister's. She seemed more bubbly than usual, which most likely meant something was up.

"Okay, okay, slow," Anna repeated. "So, we ate dinner, which was delicious by the way, he is _such_ a good cook, and then we cuddled by the fireplace, which was _so_ romantic Elsa…"

Elsa let her prattle on for a minute, knowing she would get to whatever was on her mind.

"And then we talked…" She was silent.

Ahh, here it was.

"About what?"

Anna fidgeted. "Ummm…" She took another gulp of tea. "Well…" She played with her braid.

Elsa looked at her warmly. "Yes?"

Anna sighed. "Elsa, there's something I need to talk to you about."

Elsa furrowed her brow in concern. "Of course. What is it, Anna?"

Anna took a deep breath. "So, you know how Kristoff and I are getting married?"

"Yes, as it's all you'll talk about!" Elsa laughed.

"Well," she continued, "You know how – I mean – well…last night he mentioned a honeymoon." Anna gave Elsa a knowing look and rested her chin on her hands.

"That sounds lovely," Elsa supplied. "Have you thought about where you'll go?"

Anna's eyes lit up. " _Yes_ , oh my god, Elsa, it's going to be – wait. That's not the point. A honeymoon, Elsa."

Elsa was beginning to feel she was missing something. "I don't…"

"Elsa, our wedding night." Anna looked at her with utmost concern. Did she really not understand…?

Then it dawned on Elsa. Anna and Kristoff's wedding night. Right. They were going to…Okay. Okay. Well, big sister time.

"Thank you!" Anna smacked her forehead. "I thought I was going to have to spell it out for you!"

Elsa laughed. "If it's something you're going to do, I think you should be able to spell it out."

"Fine. S-E-X," she muttered glumly into her mug of tea.

"I'll let that pass," Elsa smirked. While Anna swallowed, Elsa racked her brain for what to say next. Books she'd read, gossip she'd heard in town…that movie she watched when she had joined Emma and Ruby in a movie night…She suppressed a shudder. Did Anna really want to do _that_?

Elsa looked up. Right now, Anna wanted her to say something.

"Well…what makes you worried about this now? I mean, have you thought about it before now?"

Anna sighed dreamily and looked at the ceiling. "Of _course_ I think about it, duh, he's gorgeous!"

Okay, that cleared that up.

"But," Anna snapped back to earth. "I guess everything seems so real all of a sudden. Like before, the wedding seemed so far off in the future, and I never really had to consider any specific details…I mean I knew it would _happen_ , and part of me can't wait, but part of me is freaking out, you know? Because like, I have to make it happen. I'm going to be doing this. I can't just…I don't know."

Elsa thought for a moment. "And what exactly are you worried about?"

"Everything, Elsa!" Anna's head fell into her hands. "I mean, I know I rush into things too fast sometimes, and I want to make sure this is really the right decision, I mean I know I love him and I want to be with him forever, but you always help me realize when I'm going too fast." She looked up at Elsa hopefully.

Elsa smiled. It was good to know why exactly her sister had come to _her_ about this. "I don't think you're moving too fast, Anna. Kristoff is a good guy, and sure, people do usually date a little longer than you two did before deciding to get married. But you two are special. You went on an adventure together to save me, and that counts as double time."

Anna nodded. "Okay. I was just so worried that if I was nervous, then it wasn't the right thing to do. Because I _am_ still nervous."

"Sometimes it's scary to do the best thing. Like to assume responsibility for an entire kingdom…or to travel across realms to save your sister. Right?"

"I guess so. But that's a different kind of scary, I think."

Okay, now for the territory Elsa was not so familiar with. "Then…what are you nervous about, again?"

Anna threw her hands up in the air. "What's not to be nervous about, Elsa? I mean, I guess you're so coordinated and elegant and regal and you do everything so perfectly, but me? I mess things up! I'm clumsy, and uncoordinated, and he's a self-proclaimed love expert! How could I possibly not be nervous?"

Elsa laughed out loud. "I don't think he meant he was _that_ kind of love expert." She pictured Kristoff's awkwardly bulky frame. No way.

Anna dropped her jaw. "Excuse me? I'll have you know, he's an excellent kisser, so if that's any indication of his other-"

"Okay, okay!" Elsa put her hands up. "Sorry. I didn't mean that," she backtracked. Anna crossed her arms over her chest, appearing to be satisfied with the apology. "Anna, what did he say about the honeymoon? What did you say when he mentioned it?"

Anna looked sheepish. "I didn't know what to say! So…I just kissed him." She thought about it for a moment. "Yeah, I kissed him pretty hard."

Elsa rubbed her forehead. "So if I understand correctly, he probably took that as extreme enthusiasm?"

"Aahh! Stop making me more panicked!" Anna got up and began pacing around the room.

Oops. Not helping. "Sorry, sorry, I'm just trying to understand the situation. How did he bring it up exactly?"

Anna was silent for a minute, recalling what had happened. Dinner, dessert, fireplace…right!

"Okay, so first, we were eating dinner, and Kristoff said he wanted to give some to Sven but I was like, are you sure reindeer can eat this stuff?"

"Anna, can we start a little later in the story?"

"Oh, yeah sure! Skipping ahead! So we were laying on the carpet by the fireplace, and things got a little more heated than usual – " she saw Elsa's face getting paler – "relax, I'll spare you the details!"

"Thanks," Elsa muttered.

"But then he sat me up and kind of whispered, 'You know, I was thinking, with those portals, we could go wherever we want."

~xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx~

Anna took a breath and pulled away to look at him. "Yeah? And?"

Kristoff sighed. "I mean for after the wedding. You know, our honeymoon. Or did they not teach you about those growing up in the palace?" he teased.

Anna waved him off. "Of _course_ I know what a honeymoon is! I can't believe I forgot! I guess with moving to Storybrooke and Elsa's firm…wow, we have so much to do! Are we going to have everything ready in time? Do we –"

"Relax, Anna!" He pulled her closer. "I have a plan."

"I'm listening."

"So, I know I love ice and everything – "

Anna rolled her eyes.

"But we can have fancy ice castles anytime we want, thanks to your sister. So I was thinking we should go somewhere warm."

Anna's eyes lit up. "Ooohh, that sounds amazing."

"Somewhere tropical."

"Oh, but would Olaf's personal flurry hold up?" Anna asked, concerned.

"Anna." Kristoff looked skeptical. "Do you really think bringing Olaf is a good idea?"

"Are you going to bring Sven?" she challenged.

"Okay, Sven is different."

Anna opened her mouth to protest but Kristoff put up his hands to stop her. "Sven can get us places."

"So can the portals."

"Plus, he can't talk."

"Then why do I hear you two having conversations?"

"And most importantly, he can't _interrupt_ us." Kristoff gave her a sly look.

~xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx~

"And that's when I first became really nervous, Elsa. I guess that's why I imagined Olaf there. Because nothing would ever get too serious."

Anna looked at Elsa for affirmation.

"Then…are you sure you're ready for this? If just thinking about it makes you so stressed…"

"No, I think it's just that it's so new and I don't know what to expect."

"Okay. So what happened next?"

~xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx~

Kristoff brushed her hair behind her shoulders. "I want this to be really special. I have a feeling that after the wedding, we're going to have had enough people crowding us that we'll want some space. But if you really want to bring Olaf, of course he can come with us."

"No, no, you're right. I don't think I'm going to want to share you with any snowmen." Anna lay back down next to him on the carpet, propping herself up with her elbows.

Kristoff laughed. "If you change your mind, we can always ask Elsa to send him our way."

"So will you tell me where we're going?"

"Nope, it's a surprise. But you'll love where we're staying! I mean, I hope you will. You know, maybe I should just tell you, maybe you'll hate it, why did I decide this without you? I'm the worst – "

"Kristoff, stop!" Anna took his hand. "I know I'll love it. And anyway, I've done almost all the wedding planning, so you're definitely pulling your weight by doing this."

"Okay." He smiled. "But you're going to have to trust me."

Anna raised an eyebrow. "Well now I'm skeptical."

"Don't be." He pulled her closer. "I have it all planned out. We're going to a few different places actually, but the first one…We've been through so much, I just want this night to be perfect."

~xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx~

"So you see?" Anna implored. "He said it himself. He wants it to be perfect."

Elsa was beginning to understand the problem. "And you think that you can't meet his expectations?"

"I just think he's making this into something really big in his head, and what if it doesn't end up that way?"

Nodding, Elsa poured herself another cup of tea. "You know, Anna, you said that you two talked about the honeymoon, but really, Kristoff just made a few vague statements about how special he wants everything to be. I think you need to tell him what's stressing you out."

"Absolutely not." She folded her arms across her chest.

Elsa sighed. "Why not?"

"Because…I guess because if he didn't bring it up himself, he doesn't want to talk about it? He won't even tell me where we're going! He wants this to be so mysterious and everything, I think I'll ruin it or something if I tell him how I feel."

"Anna!" Elsa tried to wrap her head around her sister's predicament. When she had told Anna she couldn't marry someone she didn't know, Elsa was only thinking of the obvious- how did Anna know he was honest? A good person? Elsa hadn't even thought to consider any of this…physical stuff. Suddenly she realized just how complicated all of this could be.

"You need to tell him, Anna. You know why? Because it's not all about him. This is about you too. You want this to be fun…" she hesitated. "Special, interesting? Whatever- for you too."

Anna's eyes widened. "I can kind of tell you're winging this, but…wow. Elsa, that makes sense!"

"I'm not sure if I should be a little bit offended by that, but thanks anyway."

Anna sighed with relief. "You have no idea how much better I feel." She squeezed Elsa's hand. "Maybe I should go back there tonight, maybe he realized something was wrong and feels bad, maybe – "

"Anna, it's late. I think you should just sleep on it."

"Right, okay." Anna got up to rinse out her tea cup.

"And Anna – "

"Yeah?"

"Maybe…" Elsa hesitated. She wanted her sister to think she could answer all her questions, but she knew she was out of her depth here. And Anna had definitely noticed. Plus, a certain sheriff did owe her a favor, she remembered slyly. "Maybe you should talk to Emma."

Anna turned around. "Emma? Why?"

Now it was Elsa's turn to be frustrated with her sister's cluelessness.

"Well," Elsa sighed. "I can talk about feelings all day long, but at the end of the day…" _I thought you were worried about being prepared! About expectations!_ But she couldn't bring herself to say that. So instead, as often happened, she talked about math. "It's like when I'm designing a new structure and in my simulation the forces are perfectly balanced but in _practice_ , there are all these other factors that come into play, so you can't always rely on just the theory –"

Anna's jaw dropped with what looked like delight. "Elsa!" She was used to her sister's nerdy analogies but this was by far the best.

"Yes?" Elsa suddenly worried that she took her metaphor too far.

"What a scandalous metaphor!" She smacked her sister on the shoulder playfully.

"Yes well, I know you must have more questions than I can answer." Elsa's eyes were trained on the teapot in front of her.

"Oohh, then guess what that means?"

Elsa only raised her eyebrows.

"That I'll finally get to be the big sister for something!"

"Okay, Anna, I think it's time for bed."

As Anna got ready to go to sleep, Elsa remained seated at the kitchen table, thinking about their conversation. It really was true, then. Elsa had somehow thought that all of this relationship stuff, and all of this physical stuff, was something that people wanted much later, when they were much older. That she and Anna hadn't reached that point yet. But now Anna had. _So where am I?_ Elsa wondered. She shouldn't just want companionship, she should want to be attracted to someone, in the way Anna was attracted to Kristoff. It should make her feel excited, not stressed and mildly grossed out.

She knew it wasn't just that she needed to grow up. She was a queen, after all. She felt mature in all other aspects of her life. _So this is the way I am, then._

Now, she just needed to tackle this like she tackled all her questions. She needed to do some research.

~xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx~

Emma saw a flash of brown hair in her window, then heard a knock.

"Anna?"

Anna popped into the office moments later.

"Hey, kid!" Emma looked up from her desktop. "Don't tell me there's a giant ice monster at the town line."

Anna laughed. "Oh no, he lives in Elsa's old palace."

Emma opened her mouth to say it was supposed to be a joke, but decided she didn't want to know any more.

"And I'm not a kid, Emma." She flopped into the chair in front of Emma's desk. "I'm here to discuss some very non-kid topics." She gave Emma her most serious look.

Emma nodded slowly, making what she hoped was a successful effort not to chuckle. "You and Kristoff getting married, huh?"

"Okay, it took Elsa like ten hours to get that!"

"Yeah, I believe it." Emma smirked. "So, did she give you the ice birds and the ice bees?"

"Well…not exactly?"

"Did she tell you everything was going to be ice castles and snow angles if it was true love?"

Anna laughed. "Pretty much, yeah. By the way, I love that thing you do where you say something that's funny as though it's really serious. No one does that in Arendelle. Except maybe Kristoff."

"It's called sarcasm, kid."

"Sarcasm," Anna repeated. "I like it!"

Okay, so what exactly did Anna need? Condoms? Emma could give her those. Did they even have those in fairy tale world? Was there some spell? Oh god. Maybe the blue fairy would be better at this.

"Anyway," Anna said cheerfully, "Elsa suggested I come to you for some practical advice!"

Emma's mouth fell open. " _Wow_ , Elsa."

"Ohhh, I don't think she meant it like that…"

"You know," Emma continued, ignoring Anna's reassurance, "People think all you fairytale characters are so innocent, like sweet little Mary Margaret, no one would ever think to ask her, but all that time they had in the enchanted forest? I bet they –"

"Umm." Anna cut her off. "Isn't it weird to talk about your mom like that?"

Emma paused. "Yes, Anna." She nodded solemnly. "Yes, it is. I take it back."

"So can you help me? Or do I have to go track down Mary Margaret?"

Emma sighed and made a mental note to add "gave sex talk to princess" to her ever-growing resume. "Sure, kid. What do you need?"

~xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx~

"Regina, can I ask you something? Queen to queen?"

Elsa found Regina in the kitchen at the end of the day, baking an apple tart.

Regina smiled and turned off the mixer. "Of course." She loved how well she and Elsa got along even though Elsa- gentle, delicate, but still a strong leader- was the complete opposite of herself.

"Do you ever feel like your special abilities impact the way you connect with other people?"

Oh. Not what Regina had been expecting. Her expression instantly turned harsh. "I thought we talked about this. I was evil, Elsa, I know. It's a reputation that will always precede me."

Elsa's eyes widened when she saw how crushed Regina looked. "No, no, no, that's not what I meant at all!" She glided over to Regina's side and touched her shoulder in what she hoped was a comforting gesture.

Regina's smile returned. "I am so sorry to have assumed that. It's just- as I said, my reputation precedes me. I always assume people think the worst of me."

"Well, for what it's worth, you're one of my favorite people in Storybrooke."

Regina beamed.

"I do love having the company of another queen." Elsa reassured her.

"So what was it that you meant, then?"

"Oh, just…" If Regina didn't understand right away, maybe Elsa shouldn't ask.

"You can ask me anything," Regina supplied, sensing Elsa's discomfort.

Elsa nodded. "I guess I meant…since you have abilities that others don't, do you ever wonder if that was in exchange for something? That maybe somehow that power was traded for a more…human ability?"

An expression that Elsa couldn't quite describe crossed Regina's face. "You didn't talk to Gold, did you?"

A puzzled look from Elsa confirmed that she hadn't. "Oh, he just has this "all magic comes with a price" catch phrase. I thought he'd gotten to you," Regina explained.

Elsa's face lit up- this could be the clue she needed! "A price? What do you mean?"

"Oh, no, it's not true. At least, not for the magic you have. It's just a mind game he plays to get those who are hungry for power to make deals with him. Besides, your magic didn't come from this realm. And even if you did believe him, you already payed the price by struggling to control your powers. It's all in how you frame it."

Regina seemed like she was speaking from more than a few lifetimes of experience.

"But," she continued, "why do you ask?"

Maybe it was best to start from the beginning. Regina did say she could ask her anything. "Well, Anna is getting married."

"I'm well aware."

"And last night she was talking about her honeymoon and asking me for… _advice_." Elsa grimaced.

Awareness dawned on Regina's face and she burst out laughing. "I think I saw that one coming."

"Ugh, you should have warned me!"

Regina waved her off. "I'm sure you handled it fine, like the queen that you are. You certainly must have experience talking about difficult issues." She stopped, puzzled. "But I've heard that sisters always talk about that kind of stuff. Anna is so lucky to have you."

Elsa sighed and sat down at the counter. "No, she's not."

"I'm sorry?"

"Because I can't talk about that " _kind of stuff_ " – Elsa made air quotes – "with her."

"Why not?" Regina took a seat next to her.

"Because…because I don't understand it." Elsa stared at the tile floor. "There are a lot of things that I want, Regina – I want my kingdom to be happy, I want my firm to do well, I want to help people through architecture, I want to learn, I want to study, and I want Anna to be happy – and maybe, much _much_ later in the future, I might want someone to live my life alongside of. Someone I could talk to, study with, and work with – but that's all. And it never even occurred to me that I'm supposed to want something more. That when I'm at parties, these diplomatic events, and I dance with the other royalty, I'm supposed to want more than to just listen to their stories. It's like this dimension didn't exist for me before so I never felt like there was anything missing, and now all of a sudden I find out there is."

Elsa took a deep breath and finally looked up at Regina, whose eyes were on hers.

"I'm so glad you trusted me enough to tell me this, Elsa."

Elsa smiled and looked back down at the floor. "I didn't know if anyone else would understand."

Regina nodded. "People in this town have dealt with a lot. Every single person here has lost something- some part of their lives, their family, their passion- because they thought they should want more. They couldn't convince themselves that what they had was enough. So if you're happy, Elsa, don't let anyone tell you that you should want more."

Elsa's smile grew as Regina continued to speak. "Thank you."

"Of course."

One thing Elsa loved about talking to Regina was that she preferred long speeches that contained everything she needed to say, as opposed to superfluous banter. It made Elsa feel like Regina would take anything she said seriously.

"But, even if I don't want more, which I really _don't_ , at least right now, I do know that I'm different. Everyone else wants this…this other thing with someone, and it just seems unintuitive to me."

Regina rolled her eyes. "Big deal! You're different! Ruby's a werewolf, and Hook's a pirate, and we all have magic!"

"No, but the thing is, I'm just worried that it's not just because of who I am. What if it's because of my powers? Or that I spent so much time trying to control myself that it's impossible for me to ever…let go?"

Regina thought it best to pass up the opportunity to start singing what had recently become the top hit in Storybrooke in the past few months. Instead, her expression turned soft. "Elsa, does that make it any less valid?"

Elsa blinked.

"That's what you're worried about, isn't it?"

She nodded slowly.

"Please don't worry about that, okay?" Regina pulled her in for a hug, which Elsa gladly accepted. "We are who we are, no matter how we got here, and each story is valid and deserves respect."

Regina looked up at her. "And can we please put a name to this? You know how much I hate being evasive."

Elsa provided a shaky laugh. "Umm, sure, if you know what to call it?"

Regina nodded. "I don't want to put words in your mouth, and you can tell me if you don't like this word, but I believe it's called asexual."

Elsa paused, thinking about the word. "It makes sense," she finally agreed.

"People sometimes shorten it to 'ace'."

"It sounds so regal!" Elsa's face lit up.

"It suits you."

"Regina." Elsa stood up. "I can't thank you enough."

"Yes you can. By being who you are and being proud of it. That doesn't mean you have to tell anyone, or that you shouldn't tell anyone. It means that you have to accept yourself no matter what."

~xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx~

Elsa walked out of Regina's mansion feeling like a literal weight was lifted from her shoulders. She realized she was shaking a little bit from relief. It felt so good to have someone who knew, someone who understood. And now, it was time to talk to Anna.


End file.
